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Pirelli happy after five-day Bahrain test

Pirelli has just completed a five-day test in Bahrain © Getty Images

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Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery is confident his tyre company will deliver in 2011 after completing its latest private test in Bahrain.

Pedro de la Rosa and Romain Grosjean have been at the wheel of Pirelli's 2009 Toyota for five days of testing in Sakhir, where they compared different compounds in the heat of the desert.

"We ran two drivers in order to compare two different sets of feedback, and the fact that they were both saying the same positive things at the end of the test only underlines the progress that we have made," Hembery said. "There's still some work to do, but we can head into 2011 with confidence."

The test was prolonged by a sandstorm but Hembery said it didn't cause any major concerns.

"I think this goes to show that, wherever you are in the world, uncertain weather can arrive in a variety of forms. But Formula One is all about expecting the unexpected, and we were able to quickly react to these changing circumstances by extending our test.

"With the extra time we had, we were probably able to put in a little bit more work than we had originally planned, so everything worked out very well in the end. We ran through our entire dry tyre range, and to have reached the point where we are at now, just five months after the F1 tyres ran for the very first time at Mugello in August, is an incredible testimony to the commitment and capability shown by every member of our team."

The next private test will also be in Bahrain on January 9-10 before three days of testing in Abu Dhabi. By the start of February Pirelli will be on track with the F1 teams, testing the 2011 cars in Valencia.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.